Cigarette tray or receptacle



S. M. DICKSON CIGARETTE TRAY 0R RECEPTACLE April 25, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed 001;. 17, 1946 INVENTOR. 5522 726 Mfia'ckson P 1950 s. M.DICKSON I 2,505,35 1' CIGARETTE TRAY OR RECEPTACLE Filed Oct. 17. 1946 2Sheets-Shet 2 fllllllll- INVENTOR. Sling/)1 fiz'c/Rson if 2% E:

Patented Apr. 25, 1950 21505351 CIGARE I TELTRKY B, RECEPTACLE Sidney;MJLDiekson; Perrysville, 2a., Application- October, 1946, Serial No.703,729 420mm; (01. lei-240i My invention.relatesatoraacigaretteaoriashitraw ororeceptacleofi'suchc'constnuctiomthat it is, fire-- sa'fe: and; has: various"other" advantageous; ieaturesa Common; types. of ash trays; forcigarettes;and;

the like have the outstanding disadvantage: of- Being. unsafe; from" the:Stfilfl'dPOiIlt-ilOi fire hazard,

thatzi's the 'cigarette'z-whemlaid 0112a,; ledges on the. mouth portionofi the: ashtray, would; as; a. result? of; predetermined:burningtoffthe. lit endxthereofi,

finallmfall: outwardlyiinstead of: inwardly imthez ash; tray, thereby:oftentimes; causing aifine-zi. In;

other. words; the; overhanging: portiom of the: cige arette:extendingvoutwardly fromv the supporting; edge? would. become heavier orprovide a; greater: momentaarmz than" tl iewinwardiwprojectingi pontion; of thezcigaretteaduez to: consumption orilournw ing; oiraa;predetermined portiom of such inwardly; extending; portion; Attemptswere: made "to pro vide:aizfireproofsstnuctura by laying thecentrahportion ofthes cigarettezon-t-he: edgeyon'rmouthl of: the tray. and:rest; thelit"v portiona om a: grille of; some kind; sometimes.- makingvthev outer edge: on

lip? slightly. higher than". the top; of: the: grille? so;

as: to: incline the cigarette. slightly with: the

thoughtthatzasethe; cigarette would. burnzit wouldz' evenafter; burn-mg:or" consumption; Off suclmliti portion of the; cigarette; therebyforming abridge forming a: continuation of: the s'unlit. portion,andbjeingisufiiciently strong to support such unlit? portion of:thewcigarettesorthat finally} such bridge: becomes ofi suchgreatlength-that the-unburned;

portion of the cigarette projecting; from: the; ledge? into; theash-traywould become muchzi smaller thanits original 'lengthandeuen-smal-lerrthan the overhanging portion extending; from a the:ledge: 45:

outwardly 'ofr'the ash tray; thereby eausingqthe:

moment: arm of: the outwardly; extending: portiomto; become greaterthan: that of the inwardly are tending: portionthereby causing dropping;oi: the: 'Iihisa. would;

cigarette outside: of the: container. oftentimes result in: a fire;

Another outstanding objection to: commonz types ofi cigaretteashitraysis that theiledgesapro vided: on: the? lip? or; mouth portion;thereof have; the outstanding objectionv ofz being; unsanitarai is;ingradially outwardly rtor support. vthe: lit: endon V 2 frormthestandpoint thatithe end of the cigarette moistened: by," the-lip touchessuchledges so as: tormakez theserledges convenient means to spread.

' disease fn0mr0nefsm'oke11s: mouth to that. ot a subse uentsmokerzonuser Off the ashtray;

AL fiurther outstanding: objection of common: types of; ash: trayszis.that: usuall the: lit? end. of

the'i cigarettezisz SUDDODtGdLOD a surface of a Sui-- ficientlyilargearea: as to=cause:appreciab1e con densation: or sweating one the.burning; end of i the; cigarette; thereb e giving; ail-undesirabletastetothesmoke; rendering; the: smoking of the burned:

end:v much" less}. enjoyable" than: the consumed portion.

Anxobieetzoi my invention is-vto; provide a novel cigarettaor ashytraygthat'issdevoid' of; the variousaboveementioned. disadv-antages ofvwell-known types of trays.

Aemorei specific; ohiectv oi: my invention; is to provide a; novelfireproof: cigarette tray or re'- ceptacle's ofisuchtconstructioni that:it would be impossible-ion as cigarette placed therein: to burn away;and: fall? outside thereofs so: as to become a: fireahazardz;

more specific:- object: ofv my: invention is' to; provide an sh f tray:thatcompletely enclosesv a supportedilit-eigarettesoz thauno portion ofthe; cigarettezwili overhang, itsiouter' edge or lip and; Whichthas' a:grilled:"suimort:- therein on which is; rested theiitsend; ofithecigarette;

Aif-urlther' object 1 ofi my: invention is: to: provide" an, tray forrcigarettes and the like Whichi hasaantoutwardlyi extending: lip: portionwhich: is; entirely free: oir'devoid'i of ledges: for: laying thecigaretteheriaontaiiy;; v and which: tray provides a minimum area=- offsupport ats-the intermediate: portiomofithacigarette and; atthezlitrendthereofi so as to: make: it fireproof; sanitary and at thesameztime eliminate; condensation. or sweating on; the; lit:v end thatmight impart undesirable:

flavontowthe smoke A; stilivmore: specific objectsof. my invention is.to provideasan ash trayiforcigarettes and thedike,

an outwardlyv flaredLIip; portion: extending;

floms thfit mouth or openingz'ofvthe tray,.. whichfiaredzlipportioniextendszbeyondrandr encloses: the:'

ofe'aicigaretta. the: other support for the: lit end;

beingsinzthe: fommofifa; grillehaving spaced memberszeithenvinconcentric; paralielform; or extendia surface of minimumarea and make the cigarette assume an inclined position so that it willbe impossible to drop outside of the flared lip portion, serving as aguard or catch basin, irrespective of the extent of burning at the litend.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from astudy of the following specification taken with the accompan ingdrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a cigarette tray or receptacle embodying theprinciples of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIII of Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a modified form of my ashtray mounted on a smoking stand, and j Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top viewwith parts shown broken away of the structure shown in Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, numeral I denotes acup-like receptacle or tray for collecting ashes from a depositedburning cigarette or the like, and at the top or mouth portion of whichthere is a cylindrical portion 2 from the top edge or mouth of whichextends an outwardly flared portion 3. At the peripheral edge 4 formingthe joint between flared portion 3 and cylindrical portion 2 there areprovided a series of arcuate indentations or bulges that are adapted toconform somewhat to the curvature of the cigarette so as to form aplurality of pockets to prevent the cigarette from rolling along theperipheral edge 4 when leaned thereagainst. These arcuate portions maybe made by hammering, pressing or expanding by dies, or by any othersuitable method that is known in the metal working art.

Intermediate the cylindrical portion 2 a shoulder is formed forsupporting a grille or grid 5 comprising a plurality of concentricallydisposed wires, metal stampings, castings of metal, ceramic or otherfireproof material having a central opening through which butts may bedropped, which grille is supported on radially extending support members6 fastened to the walls of cylin-.

drical portion 2 and which underlie the grille. Thus when a litcigarette, such as I, is placed in the ash tray or container, itsintermediate portion will lean against and snugly fit within one of thecurved portions of edge 4, whereas its lit end will rest upon one of theconcentric elements of grille 5 and will not come in contact with anyradially extending elements-of support 6.

The cross-section of the grid or grille elements or sections coming incontact with the burning end of the cigarette should be kept at aminimum, say approximately 1% of an inch in diameter in case they aremade of wires, to prevent sweating or accumulation of moisture as wellas to prevent piling up or accumulation of burned ash. The distancebetween grid sections or members for optimum operation should beslightly less than the diameter of the cigarette, that is should bespaced on approximately 1 inch centers to prevent the cigarette fromfalling through the grid and into the receptacle I and thereby becomingcontaminated with ash or collecting moisture and sweating by coming incontact with a large support area or surface. That is to say, if thespacing between grid wires 'were substantially less than T e inch, theninstead of one or two of such wires to support the burned end there willbe three or more which would increase the supporting area and provide agreaterdegree of 4 condensation or sweating at the burned end whichwould substantially impair the taste of the smoke. Thus it will be seenthat by providing the grid sections in the same parallel direction andof suitable dimensions and by eliminating any crosswise extendingsections on or near the surface of the grid the cigarette-supporting orcontact area will be materially reduced, hence the condensation orsweating that inherently occurs at the burned end will be practicallyeliminated. Such grid work structure due to its large openings, ofcourse, allows freer falling of the ashes 'therethrough, hence the gridwill remain at all times fairly clear of ashes, hence it will not besubject to substantial discoloration as is usually attendant withsweating or condensation. Only clean ashes, that is ashes devoid ofmoisture, condensation, etc., will fall into the cup I, which ashes willbe of somewhat reduced temperature so as not to mar the inner finishedsurface of the ash collector or cup-like receptacle I.

When it is desired to empty tray I, it is merely necessary to lift thegrill 5 from its supporting shoulders 2a which can be readily done byinserting ones finger through the central opening of the grille.

It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2 that the depositedcigarette 1 which is laid in an inclined position will never. falloutwardly of the flared portion 3 which completely encloses or surroundsit, irrespective of the mode of burning of the burned end ofthecigarette. That is, even assuming that the burned end retains itssolid cylindrical shape despite consumption or burning thereof andthereby provides a bridge or support of ash for the unburned portion,nevertheless, whenever such bridge portion finally does break down, themost that can happen is that the cigarette will either slidesubstantially axially so as to drop to a greater extent into thecylindrical portion 2 in its inclined position, or it will tip over andlie on top of the upper surface of the grid. In either event, since thelit cigarette will at all times be maintained within the confines of thecigarette container or tray, it will never constitute a fire hazard.Furthermore, the inclined position of cigarette 1 provides conveniencein handling for continued smoking until the cigarette becomes too smallfor smoking.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a modified form of my cigarette tray or container andshows it supported in a smoking stand or support of the pedestal type.More specifically, upon pedestal 8 there is fitted a substantiallyhemispherical bowl portion 9 having a stepped marginal edge portion IDfor supporting the grid or grille II which edge portion is continuedvertically upwardly to edge or mouth I2 having arcuate indentations I2aformed along the periphery thereof similar to those in edge 4 in Figures1 and 2. From this edge there extends the outwardly flared lip portionI3 similar to flared portion 3 of Figure 2.

Instead of providing a grid II of concentric sections, there is shown byway of modification a grid made up of a plurality of radially extendingsections or elements IIa having their outer ends secured to ring I5 andsupported on the edge I0 and having inner ends secured to ring I4. Thesections Ila may constitute either wires that are Woven through holes inrings I4 and I5 or may be element welded to such rings or, in fact,supported in any desirable manner. It should be understood, however,that the concentric type of grid shown in Figures 1 and 2 could besubstituted for that shown in Figures 3 and 4. The essential feature isthatesuch: elements I-Iwshould be of minimum cross-section, say of theorder of 1%;

inch in diameter and should be-spaced sufficiently; close: together sothat the-cigarette will; not f all densation. or moisture formation atthe lit end of.

thecigarette. The general. requirement for the grille: sections; is thatthey "extend in the samel'direction and are as parallel as: possible.

Within bowl portion e there" is; supported. a correspondingly shapedbowl It for collecting thefbume'd ashes; which bowr' is readilyg'removable"fonthe -purposeof'emptying the ashes after they haveaccumulated for a period of time therein. A tray I! in the form of afrustum of an inverted cone extends from ring I5 and supports a bracketI8 rigidly secured thereto and depending therefrom. At the bottom oftray I1 is a round hole or opening. The hole or opening is normallyclosed by disk-shaped door or gate I9 rigidly secured to a stem 20,which stem can be turned in either direction along its axis bymanipulating knob 2|. A leaf spring 22 having one end anchored tobracket I 8 and the other end extending radially through a slot formedin stem serves to center at all times or normally bias door I9 to itsclosed position. Spring clip 26 secured to the bottom of tray I! keepsthe door I9 closed tightly. The entire tray as sembly including trayI'I, grid II and door operating mechanism is readily removable bylifting it from the supporting edge portion.

In operation when it is desired to'open door or gate I9 so as to emptythe container or tray I! of its accumulated ashes, knob 2| is turned ineither direction so that the gate I9 is moved horizontally to provide asweeping or self-cleaning movement. This action prevents matches orcigarettes from catching or interfering with automatic closing of thegate and keeps the surface reasonably clean. Since leaf spring 22normally biases or returns the open gate to its closed position, thiswill facilitate smothering of burning cigarettes. Thus the gate willoperate with equal effectiveness in either direction and will permit theoperating knob 2I and gate I9 to be returned either clockwise orcounter-clockwise.

In order to prevent partially consumed cigarettes or ashes frompyramiding or piling up directly under the gate, spreaders or fingers,such as 24, may extend from the gate so as to provide a wiping action tobreak up and spread the top of the pile of the ashes. If desired, one ormore fingers or arms, such as 25, rigidly secured to stem 20 may servesubstantially the same purpose of breakin up and spreading the top ofthe ash pile to prevent clogging at the gate and increase the capacityof the bowl l8 materially. Thus either finger 24 or 25 or both of them,as shown, may be used for this purpose.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an ash tray suitable forcigarettes and which may be designed for cigars and the like as well,and which is so constructed as to be absolutely fireproof, and which issubstantially devoid of cigarette-supporting ledges which wouldotherwise make it unsanitary and that includes a grid or grille whichprovides minimum support or contact area with the lit end of thecigarette, thereby maintaining condensation or moisture asse ses tooshort; furthermore, have: provided? a: nevi-r1;

cigarettatrayr or;- container; as well; ass a stand-i therefor; whichis; relativelyinexpensive? manufacture and capable. oflholdin'gzalarge;-

number; of cigarettes and of; accumulating;

large amount of: ashes and which: at; theas'ame.

timezprovides a pleasin'g appearance; and isirelae tively easy:t'o'kee'p;cleam Wh'ilen have illustratedr an'd'idescribed: certain.

specific "embodiments of? my invention,- itwill be:

understood that? this is by: way! of? illustratiom only and that variousclianges and modificat tions may bemade within the contemplationi ofimy'irlvention and within' the ing claims.

I claim:

l. cigarette ash tray: comprising: a: round receptacle having asubstantially"vertical? upper: wall portion, a lip integrally joined atits lower edge to the upper edge of said wall portion, said lip beingcurved outwardly and upwardly from its lower edge, the annular junctureof said lip and said wall portion having a plurality of concave recessesspaced equidistant thereabout, and a grid for supporting a lit end of acigarette positioned below the upper edge of the wall portion, thecurvature of said lip portion being such that when a cigarette has itslighted end supported on a portion of the grid on one side of the centerthereof and with a medial portion of the cigarette supported by thelower end of the lip portion in one of the recesses on the same side ofthe center of the grid the portion of the cigarette above the recesswill lie within the zone bounded by the lip portion, but out of contacttherewith.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the grid comprises radiallyand downwardly extending wire-like elements providing atruncatedoone-like supportin surface for the lit end of a cigarette.

3. A cigarette supporting and ash receiving tray comprising an openmouthed receptacle portion, an upwardly and outwardly extending curvedlip portion formed integrally with the upper portion of said receptacleportion, the integral juncture of said receptacle portion end of saidlip portion having a plurality of concave recesses spaced equidistantthereabout, said recesses having curvatures corresponding to that of acigarette so as to snugly seat and prevent rolling of the cigarettealong the upper periphery of the receptacle portion, and a rid supportedbelow the mouth of said receptacle to support the lit end of a cigarettewhen the body of the cigarette is resting in one of the aforesaidrecesses, said grid comprising elongated metallic elements spaced aparta distance less than the diameter of a cigarette and an ash receivingwell disposed below said grid, the curvature of said lip portion beingsuch that when a cigarette has its lighted end supported ona portion ofthe grid on one side of the center thereof and with a medial portion ofthe cigarette supported by the lower end of the lip portion in one ofthe recesses on the same side of the center of the grid the portion ofthe cigarette above the recess will lie within the scope of thefollowzone bounded by the lip portion, but out of contact therewith.

4. An ash tray for cigarettes and the like com- 7 prising a receptaclehaving a base and side walls projecting vertically upwardly from theperipheral edges thereof, the uppermost end of said side walls providinga ledge for supporting engagement with the medial portion of a cigarettehaving its lighted end resting against said base, and a protector rimextending upwardly and outwardly from said ledge, the surface formationof said rim being such that when a cigarette has its lighted endsupported on a" portion of the base on one side of the center thereofand with a medial portion of the cigarette supported by the ledge on thesame side of the center of the base, the portion of the cigarette abovethe lower end of the rim will lie within the zone bounded by the rim,but out of contact therewith.

SIDNEY M. DICKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number D. 93,029

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Keller Aug. 14, 1934 Scott Dec.5, 1933 Litschgi Apr. 30, 1940 Brittingham V Feb. 8, 1944 Anholt July 4,1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 8, 1926 GermanyMar. 26, 1913 Germany May 6, 1902 Germany July 15, 1928 Germany Mar. 11,1930 Sweden Apr. 13, 1939

